Starting to say goodbyes!

I started saying goodbyes to people tonight...tonight was the last young adults event at church before I leave, so there were quite a few people there this evening that I now won't see until July. I am saying goodbye only for a time, since I do plan on coming home at some point! However, I know that the experiences I will have when I am away will change me...so the person that says goodbye now is not going to be quite the same person that says hello in July. This is a good thing, I think...this trip is going to stretch me in new ways, and although it won't be comfortable I am confident that I will grow because of it. I have this sense that I am going to be changed profoundly by this experience, which is both exciting and scary at the same time.

Tonight I am realizing the importance of community. I am travelling to Uganda alone, and will be met by Jeff and Shannon when I arrive. I will be staying on the ten acre property with them, working alongside them but still working somewhat independently on the medical side of things. It is hitting me tonight...without the prayer support of my community, I am alone...the task I have been called to do is impossible and overwhelming and daunting, and will not succeed without prayer and without the support of community.

I feel convicted by all of the times I have said, "I'll pray for you" and then haven't...by the times I have listened but haven't really heard, by the times I have offered support but never followed through. Community...caring for one another...listening and hearing...sharing each other's burdens...definitely not easy. I am also so appreciative of the people who have taken the time to listen to me, to pray for me, and to support me...there have been many of you who have offered these things to me in this period of preparation, and for that I am so thankful!